Is there a sensor to detect biological materials?

[BSMoshe]

Is there a sensor to detect biological materials such as wool, linen, or small insects.

 

[Britannicus]

Hi Moshe.

The quick answer I think is "no" not from an electrical perspective - not single something at least. I think you're definition is a bit broad - there are so many biological materials. there are interesting experiments to distinguish slik from nylon etc.

Maybe if you could explain what exactly your application then we might be able to make a suggestion

spotting a bug - maybe a movement detector
differentiating wool from nylon - resistivity will show up that wool has a higher resistance.
spotting life - CO2 detector?
Spotting next doors cat - maybe a PIR

hope you find an answer to your particular Question


Smash it up and a mass spectorgraph will tell you its composition.

A PIR is a pretty good detector for warm blooded living beasties
CO2 detectors exist that'll eventually pick up anything living - but also burning etc.

 

[Raven Luni]

They have these nano thingies that react to different types of bacteria. I remember reading that they put lots of different types on a chip or something and you have a single use detector.

 

[twister]

This is a little off topic, but I had a labrador retriever that had an amazing sense of smell. I could hide his eyes and throw a ball out in the weeds and then tell him to go get it. Even if the wind was blowing, he could catch a whiff of that ball if he was downwind, and he would find that ball every time. Now that is a sensor!

 

[BSMoshe]

i need to detect only 3 materials, wool linen (jews are not allowed to wear Them together)
and small bugs (like trips) in food.

 

[Britannicus]

Hi Moshe,

Interesting problem - I'll have to give it some thought - bugs in food - that'll be tough, as there's little difference between the two. One prospect is that insects often have a tendancy to glow in UV light (it's the chitin in them). might show up...

At least Linnen and wool are differentiated by being plant and animal - but also in this day and age you've got the problem of wool mixes with synthetics etc.

 

[BSMoshe]

Thank you for answers.

Is it possible to identify materials by resonance, such as glass reaction, but other materials?

 

[Raven Luni]

It depends on whether you need to detect from a distance or can measure in direct contact. If the latter, you could always use the dielectric constant - basically the material is considered as the dielectric of a capacitor and each will have its own specific index (this is one of the methods they use for ground analysys in things like archaeology, oil exploration etc).